Violet marks her 100th birthday

There were big celebrations at a house at Demesne Grove, in Moira on recently for one very special lady.

Violet (nee Connor) Lennon celebrated her 100th birthday on June 4 surrounded by friends and family.

Lisburn Mayor Margaret Tolerton paid a surprise visit and Violet also received a special telegram from the Queen.

Violet was born in 1914, just months before the beginning of the First World War.

It was the same year Charlie Chaplin made his film début in ‘Making a Living’ and HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, was launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

Violet believes that being teetotal, a non-smoker and someone who has worked hard all her life are the perfect ingredients for a long and happy life.

Indeed, her sisters Isabella and Nellie, who have since died, led long lives too.

Isabella reached 100, while Nellie was just a few weeks short of her 100th birthday when she passed away a few years ago.

Violet lived with her parents Charles and Jane, two brothers and four sisters on the Shankill Road in Belfast,

She married Thomas Lennon, a painter and decorator from Moira, in 1938 and they had two children – Isabelle and Tom.

The family were brought up in a house on the Main Street. She worked at Ewarts on the Crumlin Road, then Hilden Mill. She then went onto work at RA Irwins in Magheralin, now known as Bedeck. She retired in 1982, and was an active member of the Woman’s Guild in Moira.

Her husband Thomas died in 1985, and Violet later moved in with her daughter at Demesne Grove.

“No smoking, no drinking and working hard are the things that she would always claim has helped her lead a long and healthy life,” said daughter Isabelle.

“She has a wheelchair which she refuses to use outside. She is still active, and will put the washing out.

“At around 7am, she will get up every morning and sit up at the side of the bed to get her bacon sandwich.

“When I am away to work she will have her porridge too, and then later when her friend Herbert drops by, she will make the pair of them some tea and toast – she loves her food.”